Ferrara Won’t Be Abel to Make Jekyll and Hyde

Even if this modern adaptation of the classic horror tale Jekyll & Hyde turned out bad it still probably would have made for a fascinating train wreck. Original Bad Lieutenant filmmaker Abel Ferrara directing Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as a present day Dr. Jekyll transforming into an urban version of Mr. Hyde played by rapper 50 Cent; to deny the world this film is a crime.

Alas, it looks like Warner Brothers has put the kibosh on this strange updating of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Abel Ferrara was interviewed this past week by the UK’s Guardian where be broke the news that his previously announced version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless tale of terror is on indefinate hold.

Ferrara pulls out his phone and finds a photograph of 50 Cent. “He could be an awesome Ed Hyde. He’s the real deal. But it’s not gonna get made,” he says. “Warner Brothers have put up about one fifth of what the film should cost and want about one third of what it’s gonna make, and I’m supposed to kiss the feet of whoever made that deal.” Ferrara has a big laugh, which he employs often. This time, it comes out as a mirthless chuckle. “They never made Jekyll & Hyde the way it was written. It’s a guy and his creation. Having one actor play both parts is an abomination, a distortion of Stevenson’s story,” he says. “It’s a masterpiece. I’m gonna make it one day.” Filming was supposed to start this summer but has been put on hold indefinitely.

A shame this can’t get fully financed yet a 3D Yogi Bear movie has no problem polluting 2,000 screens.

If you’re a fan of any of Ferrara’s previous films (Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, Driller Killer, Bodysnatchers,, etc) then you owe it to yourself to read this short but informative interview with a talented filmmaker so unwilling to compromise it tends to keep him unemployed.